Brookside Remembered

 

It’s seven years this week since Brookside Close was facing its on-screen demolition and Jimmy Corkhill ‘closed’ the cul-de-sac for the final time. However the fans of the soap have not forgotten the series as it marks its 28th anniversary today, as Lee Brady of the leading fansite for the show explains in this special article.

 

 

 

 

Brookside Close has now been off our screens for seven years since it was axed by Channel 4; finally leaving the screens on November 4th 2003.

It has not been forgotten even after a long seven years. Brookside came to the rise on Television on the same night Channel 4 was born in 1982 and it survived for 21 years as a top ground breaking Soap.

Brookside had famous groundbreaking storylines including the Jordache saga with the buried Trevor in the patio and the first ever lesbian kiss – to name but only a handful of classics. Brookie was also home to a host of very famous characters including the ever popular Sinbad, Jimmy Corkhill and the Jordaches not to forget the great Barry Grant.

Since its demise in 2003, Hollyoaks has taken the soap spotlight and has been taken on full time by Channel 4 who extended it from a thrice weekly show, to a full five-days-a-week soap. Hollyoaks rightly has become a very popular fan favourite, but nothing comes close to the history and achievements of Brookside back in the classic years.

Brookside’s production company, Mersey Television, was sold by Creator Phil Redmond in 2005 which was then renamed as ‘Lime Pictures‘ – new bosses thought the word Mersey would ‘limit international sales’ (not that it seems to have effected Thames Television or Tyne Tees!) – and since that sale the Brookie cul-de-sac set has been sold from pillar to post.

Between 2005 and 2010 it was refurbished twice; the first time failing to appeal to new homeowners and now its second refurbishment is almost complete. Brookside Close will be rented to the public around Christmas time.

Since 2007 fans have campaigned with an online petition to get the Liverpool based soaps’ ‘Classic’ years released onto DVD by Phil Redmond. With almost 5,000 fan signatures and support by many of the shows cast it now looks to be a promising prospect for any Brookie fan that a DVD will be released in the future.

For more details on Brookside you can visit the Bring Back Brookside site here